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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: separation of church and state

separation of church and state stories: 9 news summaries
UPDATED

 Obama Widens 
 Faith-Based 
 Initiative 

Softens campaign trail stance

Feb 5, 09 7:34 AM CST
(Newser) - Barack Obama announced his new-look faith-based initiative at the National Prayer Breakfast this morning, promising a program that won’t favor any particular religious group, or even religious groups over secular groups, the AP reports. “Far too often, we’ve seen faith wielded as a tool to divide us,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • separation of church and state • faith based initiatives • Obama administration

Clerics to Defy IRS, Endorse Candidates From Pulpit

Ministers aim to test constitutionality of ban

Sep 25, 08 12:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - Pastors from 22 states plan to purposely defy the IRS this Sunday by endorsing presidential candidates in their sermons, the LA Times reports. The so-called “pulpit initiative” aims to trigger a legal showdown, testing the constitutionality of the law forbidding such endorsements by tax-exempt groups. “There is... More »

MORE ABOUT:
religious right • IRS • religion • separation of church and state • pulpit initiative

OPINION

The Real Loser at the Pastor Rick-Quisition: America
 

Warrren's examination of candidates' faith was absolutely un-American

Aug 20, 08 1:35 PM CDT
(Newser) - Discussion of whether John McCain or Barack Obama "won" Saturday’s Saddleback inquisition misses the point, Kathleen Parker writes in the Washington Post. When the presidential candidates are publicly interrogated on their beliefs by a minister, even one as exemplary as Rick Warren, the only winner is the minister—... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • John McCain • religion • separation of church and state • Rick Warren • Thomas Jefferson • Saddleback Church

S. Carolina Raises a Fuss With Religious Vanity Plates

Critics say they endorse a religion

Jun 6, 08 9:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - South Carolinians will soon be able to put Jesus on their bumper. A new law went into effect yesterday requiring the state’s Motor Vehicles Department to produce cross-adorned “I Believe” license plates, the New York Times reports. But the plates aren’t kosher with the American Jewish... More »

MORE ABOUT:
South Carolina • religion • separation of church and state • cars

OPINION

A Double Standard
for White Preachers?

Why do we excoriate Wright but let his right-wing counterparts slide?

May 2, 08 2:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - While Jeremiah Wright is hammered from all sides for his left-wing rhetoric, Washington Post writer EJ Dionne Jr. wonders why the same degree of backlash fails to surface over extreme statements from right-wing white preachers. Among many examples: Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell famously linked feminists and gays... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Pat Robertson • Jerry Falwell • extremism • separation of church and state • Jeremiah Wright • right-wing media

Spain Gets on Divorce Express

 Church leaders say marriage contract is now 'trash'

Feb 28, 08 11:06 AM CST
(Newser) - Marriage has become a battleground in Spain, where divorce has been legal for 20 years, but a recent reform accelerating the process led to a 74% spike in the divorce rate. With 1 in every 2.3 married couples now parting, the Catholic Church is accusing the socialist government of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
divorce • Catholic Church • Spain • marriage • separation of church and state • marriage rights • divorce rate • express divorce

Critics Blast Sarkozy's Holocaust School Plan

Prez wants each 5th grader to study a victim

Feb 16, 08 12:53 PM CST
(Newser) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy has sparked a new controversy: The maverick leader is  now defending his plan to have every fifth grader study a French youth killed in the Holocaust. Critics, including Jewish analysts, warn the move could traumatize students. But one historian applauded Sarkozy's "courage" and said what... More »

MORE ABOUT:
education • Israel • Holocaust • Nicolas Sarkozy • France • Jews • religion • Nazi • Catholicism • separation of church and state • anti-Semitism • French schools

Huckabee Tests Limits of Faith

Preaching prompted a backlash in Arkansas;
in Iowa, will Christian soldiers come out?

Dec 31, 07 7:05 PM CST
(Newser) - Mike Huckabee is banking on his deep Christian faith drawing voters to him in the presidential primaries, but that same passion has proven a liability in the past. As Arkansas governor, Huckabee made several religious molehills into mountains big enough for Moses, the LA Times reports in an examination of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
religion • Mike Huckabee • Christian conservatives • evangelicals • separation of church and state • Iowa caucus • Republican presidential primaries • New Hampshire primary • Baptist

Still a Believer in Faith-Based Solutions

Bush's former faith
czar has hopes set
on Dems this time

Oct 13, 07 5:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Economist catches up with John DiIulio, the Democrat who was Bush's “faith czar” for just 7 months in his first term, to re-examine the viability of what the magazine calls "compassionate centrism." With "faith-based" now unfortunately associated more with political zeal—faith-based wars, faith-based science—... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bush administration • separation of church and state • faith based initiatives • John DiIulio • soup kitchen

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